Learn All About California and Gamble's Quails
California Quail
The California Quail has a short black plume curving forward from the crown, black and white face and throat pattern, chicken-like body, and is rather long- tailed for a quail.
Its length is 9-11in (23-28cm) Its wingspan is 14in (36cm) Its voice is three-syllabled “qua-quer’go, chi-ca’go”, with a light clucking call. Their eggs are dull white with brown spots and blotches, with 10-12 or (10-15) eggs in one clutch. Two or more females can lay their egg in the same nest. The female incubates for about 18-23 days, and fledging time is 10 days.Both male and female feed their young. Males and females look alike.
The California Quail looks like they are straight out of a cartoon, with their hurried, scurrying stride, and bobbing head plums. They are part of the pheasant family, and are mainly ground feeders, but will roost in trees, and you will frequently see them parading into your bird feeding garden in groups of 10 or more in the early morning hours or late afternoons. They are very fast running birds, and will only take flight if threatened. The male will give a loud territorial call to gather a scattered group back together.
They also visit parks and rural areas west of the Rockies, and if you live in the Plains states or eastward, you will only see the Northern Bobwhite. The California Quail the Gambel’s Quail, and the Mountain Quail live in the western states. The California Quail is a common backyard bird from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest. The Gambel’s Quail is common in the Southwest to Colorado, and the Mountain Quail is common in the mountainous areas from Nevada to California and they all look similar to each other.
During the day the quails will split up into smaller groups, but will roost together in larger groups at night time, huddling next to each other for protection and body heat. The California Quail can sometimes visit suburb and city parks, with lots of brushy areas with in it, and will often surprise unsuspecting residents and park visitors, when they are strolling across lawns. The Quails like to feast on seed mixtures from you bird feeding garden but also requires sprouted greens, especially clover and other legumes.
The quails build their nest on the ground, filling up a small hole in the ground with leaves, sticks, grasses, and will sometimes line the nest with feathers. A nest can have up to 20 eggs or more in it, and will be protected by the males, with a loud territorial call that can be heard up to a mile away.
If you like to attract Quails to your bird feeding garden, make sure to protect them from cats around the neighborhood, so therefore put your seeds and other goodies on an elevated platform or bird feeding table, at least several feet of the ground. Always keep fresh water, and clean birdbaths near by.
